Phillies Take Series Lead 2-1

Exhale Philadelphia. You may now take a deep breath and sleep well. At 2:14 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, your Fightin’ Phils beat the Rockies 6-5, in a game for the ages, a thriller in the Mile-High City. They now hold a two games to one lead over the Rox in the best of five series.

Chase Utley got the party started in the top half of the first with a solo-shot to right-center, to give the Phillies the early lead. But the Rockies would certainly answer back in the bottom half of the frame with two runs of Phillies starter J.A. Happ.

Happ never looked comfortable in the cold, as he went just three innings, giving up three earned runs on five Rockies hits. He walked two. Joe Blanton would enter the game in the fourth inning and gave up one run to the Rockies in 2.2 innings.

Colorado led the Phillies 3-1 in the fourth and starter Jason Hammel had shut the Phillies down with the exception of Utley’s long-ball. Shane Victorino led the inning off with a walk and Utley followed with a single to right field. Ryan Howard followed Utley’s hit with a single of his own, scoring Victorino. After Jayson Werth walked to load the bases, Raul Ibanez drew his first walk of the evening, scoring Utley to tie the game at three.

After a Pedro Feliz double-play, with no outs, Carlos Ruiz gave the Phillies the lead with a single through the hole at short.

The Rockies would fight back and tie the game off of Blanton before Ruiz played hero again with a single up the middle to score Raul Ibanez.

The Rockies would get the equalizer in the bottom half of the seventh off of Ryan Madson courtesy of a sacrifice fly. The run was charged to Scott Eyre who left the game after injuring what appeared to be his ankle while fielding a bunt from the Rockies Dexter Fowler. There has been no word on the severity of the injury, however, Eyre was able to walk off on his own.

The game remained knotted at five until the top of the ninth. Jimmy Rollins, who had been 0-4 up to that point, worked a lead-off single. After being sacrificed to second on a Victorino bunt, Utley moved him to third on a swinging bunt single up the first base line. Replays later showed that the ball hit Utley in the batters box and should have been ruled a foul ball, however, Utley reached safely.

Ryan Howard then hit a long fly ball to center-field, scoring Rollins, giving the Phillies the 6-5 lead off of Rockies closer Houston Street.

Brad Lidge entered the game in the ninth and got the lead-off batter to ground out to second. The next batter Carlos Gonzalez then walked and swiped second base, putting the tying run in scoring position. Jason Giambi followed with a pop out to third and then Todd Helton drew the walk to put the winning run on base with superstar short stop Troy Tulowitzki at the plate.

While those still awake in the Delaware Valley were chewing on copious amounts of antacids, Brad Lidge put the stomach acids at ease, forcing Tulowitzki to pop out to Ben Francisco to end the game.

The Phillies will look to clinch the series and move onto the NLCS tomorrow when they take on Colorado in game four. That game is scheduled to start a 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Chad Durbin should be right there with Lidge getting the Ashburn Award for holding off the Rox in the 8th innings as well as a number of guys on offense getting the job done in this game. Was a “team” victory effort.

Great when ou pass the paper boy when you are coming home from watching the game. My buddies son is 16 and has school at 6 am. I felt bad for him but he stayed up fo rthe whole game. I like the phils chances. Lidge looked good even.

A great, but not particularly attractive, win by the Phils, but the kind of game that championship teams need to win. A very tense game, and yes, it was very cold in Denver. I’m still thawing out in my hotel room!

Went to be after the Rockies tied it at 5. When the Philllies Nation page was loading, the first thing that I saw was Brad Lidge up by the Jeltz award. I was shocked to see it was the Ashburn award. Go Phills!!!!

Phillies bullpen has pitched 9 innings and given up 3 runs this series. Not great but certainly a lot better than one would think given that the bullpen is said to be our glaring weakness, along with the bench.

um…. Chase’s hr was in the TOP of the first too, not bottom… we were the visitors, right? But incredible game & i was amazed to find myself believing in Lidge at the end… but what choice did we have, right? I vote Chooch hit 7 & Pedro 8 from here on out.

Unreal – yes the Umps stunk up the place but on both sides of the inning dont forget –
Chooch with 2 monster RBI – Durbin surprised us all – how cool and Lidge, wow…
There were too many posts on nation last night, I could not get on to read or contribute! The most I have ever seen – since I have not followed up yet, any update on Eyre?

The TBS broadcasters are idiots – I dont know how many times I heard these buffoons talking about how evenly matched these 2 teams are… what a putz. It was painful to listen to.
When Eyre went down, they reviewed the play and were laughing, no nearly giggling about him in piled up – disgusting.
I could not wait to turn on MLB TV and see some real news –

Brooks your right the TBS coverage is a joke, it’s understandable for the play by play guys to get a little over-the-top with one side but you’d think those guys were on the local feed in Denver.

That was a really good win for the Phils to have to rebound and grind out an advantage several times. It’s about time Charlie leaned on the bullpen because those guys are going to have to play a big role for the Phils to make the series. It’s a clean slate for those guys especially Lidge and they don’t need to be perfect, just keep things close and keep calm on the mound. Literally every closer blowing a save in the DS is showing how these teams can’t just leave it down to the closers and their reputation and season stats mean nothing now.

Guys….that’s why for the postseason I turn down the sound and put the radio on. 1210 AM is behind the TV, but another station was AHEAD by a few seconds. So I could listen to the play-by-play and then watch it a few seconds later. MUCH better listening to our guys than those stiffs on TBS!!

I dont live in the philly area so i dont get those radio stations. so i have to listen to those idiots on tbs. but good win, kind of. it was good that we won and played mostly small ball. but other than that we didnt look to sharp. hopefully lee can win today so we dont have to go back to philly for a game 5 that will be hopefully won by hamels….but who knows how that will go.

I got up to take a piss before the start of the 8th inning and that was the first time that I had looked at a clock since the game started… it was 1:50. I started doing the math; it’s going to be 2:30 by the time this game is over, I have to get up in four hours, that is, unless the babies don’t wake me sooner, not to mention, sleeping has been brutally difficult over the past few days… I started thinking to myself, “What the hell are you doing?”

But the 9th inning was well worth it… and that was a great baseball game.

Chooch deserves the Ashburn but I’m ok with throwing Lidge a bone because we’re gonna need him. I think that catching 9 innings in that weather requires a gladiator-like effort… and the guy had 2 clutch RBI’s.

When the game started, I could tell that Feliz was too uncomfortable to make a contribution. Happ didn’t look comfortable, either but he didn’t pitch poorly… the Rockies hit some tough pitches.

Lidge wasn’t good. Aside from the control issues, Tulo should have smashed the last pitch of the game because it was a hanger right out over the plate. If I’m Charlie, I’m telling my pitchers to be very careful with Tulo today bc he’s going to be fired up…

Ibanez did a good job of being patient and working a couple of long at bats into walks.

We got lucky with Chase’s “should-have-been-foul” hit but the I would bet that the Rockies would have taken the dribbler if they could have executed and gotten the out.

Madson did a great job of bailing out Eyre (he gave up a run but it could have been much worse… men at the corners with no outs); he was throwing gas.

Hopefully Lee can bring it home tonight! Gonzalez is killing us right now. If we can stop him we can shut down their lineup. Helton and Tulowitzki haven’t done much in the clutch. Helton has gotten super lucky with his RBIs. We need to jump on Jiminez early like we did tonight. But last night’s game was like watching a boxing match and was one of the most intriguing games I have seen this season. This series is too weird though from the weather, bad umpiring, silly rollers for hits by the Rockies, etc. Let’s end this thing and move on to LA.

Not sure if I would call Durbin’s stuff “filthy.” He was good enough to get outs against the bottom of the order.

One other note… we should collectively thank Jim Tracy for putting Yorvit Torrealba in the 5 hole. He’s not a 5 hitter… Tracy overmanaged that situation, put extra pressure on Torrealba and he responded by looking lost at the plate.

Funny you should mention Papelbon…..after Nathan sh!t the bed the other night for the Twins, we were referring to him “pulling a Brad Lidge.” And when Papelbon imploded yesterday (unbelievable!!) we again said “He did a Bradd Lidge.” Strange that Lidge came on and actually GOT the save…..baseball is a strange game….

Chuck P….I agree…..Ruiz SHOULD have gotten the Asburn. His performance was awesome on many levels. And….Lidge wasn’t that good…..at least not good enough to deserve the Ashburn.

And what about Durbin……?????!!!!!!! WOW!!!! Clutch pitching right there!!

Great game by Chase. He looked better at the plate. And his Oscar performance by faking out the ump was great!!

I would absolutely call Durbin’s stuff last night filthy. He recorded 3 outs on 10 pitches, 7 of which were strikes. He had guys swinging out in front of everything. He was like a man possessed. Considering what Durbin normally does, last night was just something amazing for him.

This was on David Murphy’s write up today:

Scott Eyre was diagnosed with a mild sprained left ankle. He will be re-evaluated today. Eyre said he is determined to remain on the NLDS roster. If he is replaced, he would have to miss the NLCS.

I’m not a big Charlie Manuel fan, but I was really impressed with many of his decisions last night, especially brining in Madson to get out of the jam in the 7th.
I was really worried about Durbin pitching the 8th, but he did a fantastic job. Because of all of the injuries, there was no choice but to pitch Lidge in the 9th, although he did not pitch well at all (no command of his fastball), and was lucky to escape with the save.

I really hope Manuel will move Rollins down to #7 in the batting order – he is killing us as a leadoff hitter. I would simply move everyone up one spot after moving him down.

Ibanez and Ruiz both had outstanding games. They should start hitting Ruiz in front of Felix.
Finally, don’t read too much into Happ’s bad start – he should get another chance to start in an NLCS or WS.

Durbin did a great job but his stuff wasn’t filthy… he induced grounball outs on 88-90 MPH fastballs/sliders from Atkins (.226), Spilborghs (.241) and Barmes (.245). Madson had great stuff and he came into the game in a very tough spot… facing Helton with runners on first and third, no outs. He did give up the tying run on a sac fly but he did not allow a hit and avoided the big inning.

Durbin was amazing….but definitely not “filthy.” He surprised me and his pitching was very clutch. It settled everything down….going 1-2-3….and allowed the offense to do its thing in the 9th. He deserved the W.

With the exception of Rollins, every Phillies starter is hitting .300 or better… not too shabby. Rollins has gotten a hit in every game this series.

Last night’s win has been indicative of this series… poor oversight (MLB and umpiring crew), weird plays, punch/counter punch and everyone contributing. If you go down the order, every Phillies player had an impact in the outcome of the game.

Absolutely agree, Chuck… he deserved the “W.” Statistics don’t tell the story… he came into a situation (tied in the 8th inning) that he’s not accustomed to and went 1, 2, 3. That’s huge… I don’t want to make it sound like I don’t appreciate what he did because I do. He was clutch.

It was just that type of game… it could have went either way but we persevered and held on. This is the type of game that shows what a team is made of. I’m proud of our guys…

Ugh, fell asleep right after Eyre went down, it was like a sleeping pill or something, looked like bad karma so I induced sleep. I have to say I didn’t feel good about that game from the beginning, so to find out this a.m. that they won was a wonderful surprise. Curses to Selig and MLB for trying to tire us Phils fans out, at least older ones like me, lol.

T Mac, don’t think it would be a great idea to move Jimmy down during the post season, for a multitude of reasons, and I would be SHOCKED if Charlie would do that.

This team showed a lot of heart and soul last night. EVERYONE contributed in some way….some more than others…..but that’s the beauty of a team game. Even Rollins…..who went 1 for 5 and isn’t really hitting all that well, came up big when it mattered.

I hear ya, Georgie. Sleep just wasn’t an option, though. Paying for it today!! I am SOOO glad that tonight’s game is early, even though I will miss a few innings around 7PM because of a meeting that I have to attend. Hopefully, I can go home and watch the Phillies advance…..

I wasn’t the only person who passed out, then! I thought Chooch and Stairs striking out in the top of the 8th was the real bad karma. Anyone else think that Raul’s just been playing out of his mind so far this postseason? He’s showed as much heart as anyone.

I never thought a win could be that gut-wrenching. I have no more fingernails after last night… but TGICL (Thank god it’s cliff lee) tonight. The Phils are putting themselves in a good situation with last nights crucial win.

Yeah…TGICL….But we all need to realize that Lee probably won’t be as effective as last week and Jimenez could be better than he was last week. Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet. I would expect the Rockies to score more than 1 run and for our bullpen to be used again. Don’t be surprised to see Lidge again in the 9th.

hahaha, brown capping- I thought it was some kind of mushroom! The older people on here must keep the urban dictionary close at hand….

Chuck, if I were out somewhere I would be able to stay awake, but my mistake was taking the show up to bed for the last 3 innings, no way I’m keeping the peepers open past 2am while in a reclining position!

man how good were raul’s at bats last night. he is looking at every pitch as if he’s in a 0-2 hole and the last batter at the plate in the 9th of ws game 7. love to see his great work ethic pay off and look like its the first half of the year again.

Lesson learned from last night: Never, and I mean NEVER, take an allergy tablet when there’s a late Phillies game on, no matter how much you are sneezing or how itchy your eyes are. I missed most of the best stuff!!!!!

To say the Phils are being openly disrespected on the national stage would be an understatement. I mean, this team is not even on the radar screen of baseball writers and pundits openly rooting for a Yankees-Dodgers or Yankees-Cards matchup in the WS. The defending champs are barely being noticed, and merely as a curiosity or an afterthought when they finally get around to them.

But what you saw last night was a team of hardnosed professional ballplayers gutting out a clutch win in horrible conditions imposed upon them by the networks and the league. No question, the Phils are poised to spoil the national party. There is no way the Dodgers could pull off a win like last night under those conditions. Which is why I have never stopped believing the Phils are the class of the NL.

If we can close this out tonight, we will whip the pretty boy Dodgers like a rented mule and blow the finely crafted leads of every sportswriter in America.

Finally, TBS has absolutely no business whatsoever covering baseball. I have never seen camera coverage this incompetent in all my years of watching TV baseball. Public access TV is more competent. TBS, can you please just follow the ball!

Please tell that assinine Fop Howard Eskin that I am still around and still driving in 100 runs a year. Also, that I am still better than any of the current Phils outfielders. But mostly, tell that Fop Eskin that he is full of crap and couldn’t earn a dime outside the Philly market. I made millions in New York and now in Los Angeles. I really hate and resent that little Fop.

Hey Bobby… if given the option to choose between you and any of our current OF’s, I would choose them… any of them. I don’t care what the numbers say because you are a bad defender, you come up small when it matters and the team is better without you. No offense and thanks for your time but there’s a reason you’re on the west coast now.

I’ve got nothing but love for Thome… he brought energy to the new ballpark. Fair or not, that’s how I feel.

Abreu represents that late 90’s group; guys like Brogna, Glanville and Relaford weren’t very good… the organization had no clear direction and no desire to be committed to winning and guys like Abreu paid the price because they were never held accountable to win. The culture was always, “No worries, we’ll get em next year.” If Abreu was brought up now, he would understand that the expectations are very high. The expectation is to win… he was a good player that played for a bad organization.

if Abreu’s career ended today, according to the “Hall of Fame Career Standards Test” which is metric deveolped by Bill James that Baseball Reference .com took from in his book “The Politics of Glory” Abreu is 1 point more than the average HOF. The test is a rating scale from 0 to 100 where 20 is the minium for any consideration. The only player to exceed 100 is Babe Ruth because of the additional points he gained from pitching. The average HOF has 50 points, so abreu is 1 point higher for a total of 51. There is also a “Hall of Fame Monitor” also by James which “to assess how likely (not how deserving) an active player is to make the Hall of Fame” I didn’t have time to calculate this but the only stat. on this list that could have a negative affect is (BA). That is, any future season will only add to the totals of the stats used to develop the rating scale. His career BA however could be affected by suffcient discrepancy between the number of hits to At Bats. If this happens and his career BA dipps below .300, the loss of the few points will have little effect on his overall number.
Two All-Star appearances, 1 gold glove , partcipating in 3 post seasons does not a HOFer necessarily make, but his 51 score on the Career Standard Test does. Is this enough to sway votes if his favor, if he ‘s
ever under consideration, i don’t know. I also read,

“He [Abreu] is the only player in Major League History with these numbers:
.300 BA, 200 HR, 300 SB, .400 OBP.
The only other players who were close were Willie Mays, Rickie Henderson and Barry Bonds.”
Also,
“there is only 1 instance of a player putting up these numbers in a season, ever:
30 HR, 40 SB, 40 2B, 100 BB
It was Bobby Abreu in 2004, who finished 23rd in the MVP voting on a 2nd place Phillies team.”
Will these things make a differnce? I doubt but i hope people are not fallaciously asserting that the Phillies success can be attributable to the departure of one player. It’s questionable cause unless you prove it. Otherwise all that can be said is that its coincidence.

Rollins hit .250 with a .296 OBP. He’s not a leadoff hitter. A leadoff hitter’s sole responsibility is to get on base. Jimmy can’t work the count and swings at way too many bad pitches. He swings for the fences when he should be worried about just getting on base. Nobody’s saying that Rollins isn’t a good player – he’s just not a leadoff hitter.